Good, Wholesome Fun

Last weekend we took a trip out to Afton, MN for a little applepicking. My husband calls this type of wife-originated activity a "bullshit hayride" after an Onion article he read a few years ago. Although I can't do it justice, it was something to the effect of how the girlfriend was always dragging the poor guy to all these lame things like the apple orchard to go on a hayride. But having a kid gives you a free pass, right?

We went on the hayride and all three of us enjoyed every minute of it. Grant mostly liked the big tractor, and I enjoyed not carrying 400 pounds of apples two miles back to our car in the 80 degree heat. And so far the apples have proven a good side benefit -- I made applesauce, an apple almond tart and yesterday, cracked out a recipe for applesauce squash muffins from out of the Deceptively Delicious Cookbook. Er.......WHA? Yes, I have found in my posession something I never thought I would, mostly because no one else wanted it and I stood there as the hot potato was passed, going "what's so bad about it?"

It's actually not a bad cookbook, it's just that the premise is pretty lame. The premise is if your kids hate vegetables, HIDE them in the food. Are you kidding me? I have no comment here, except to say that I will be using the cookbook, and if I want to HIDE vegetables on anyone, it won't be my kid, it will be my husband, and all it will need is a copious amount of cheese.

So anyway, I'm still not sick of apples. Next I want to make some caramel apples. Got any good recipes/instructions for that? I don't feel like unwrapping all those damn caramels!

No Coast Has a New Face!

I'm really excited to announce that No Coast Craft-o-rama, the big annual craft sale I helped to found, has a new web site. It's beautiful (IMO). It was a total redesign by the masterful Giant Squid Industries. We now have so many things we've always wanted (but weren't sure how to create), like a forum and a place to store all the resources both for those seeking to become crafty business people, and those trying to purchase local handcrafted goods.

Our lovely and talented webmistress Kristen has done such a great job to this point, now I'm scared for her having to learn a new technology! But she's a whiz, and she'll have help, so I'm sure it's going to be a great new adventure for us!

I can't wait to hear from people what they think of the new site. I know there are a few "oopsies" right now, but not too bad for as big a job as it was! What do you think of the new site?

Wedding Bells

It was a wedding-filled weekend for us as Mr. Pumpkin's close friend tied the knot today. I missed most of the festivities, but we did swing by the reception mostly to show off Little Pumpkin's new tiesie. Pumpkin had more outfit changes than I did as I realized that the 18 month tiesie was too big and a 12 month tiesie would need to be sewn before we left the house. I have to hand to the kid, he sat on my lap and fiddled a bit with the knobs while I sewed, but he let me get through the project and even allowed me to re-dress him. Pretty spectacular, right?!

The cake was beautiful, even though it apparently went through a bit of a cake-tastrophy in which four layers somehow became one. I didn't get a chance to taste it, but it looked lovely. And the accordian player was a particular favorite, especially after treating Little Pumpkin to "The Wheels on the Bus" and "Old MacDonald". What a guy!

Hope you're enjoying your weekend. I'm off to sleep! zzzzzzzzzz.

WIP: Sweater for Pumpkin Jr.

A while ago my friend introduced me to Ravelry, the knitting and crochet site that so many get addicted to. Knitting is not my true love, and in fact I often find myself so frustrated by the "delayed gratification" of working on a project for more than a few nights. But, I knew I'd be stuck on a plane and in a hotel room, so I gave the site a try last week when I wanted to find a semi-quick project to take on my business trip. The site is cool, too because you can get pattern ratings and see how other people's projects are turning out.

I found this cute pattern for a ribbed sweater with a button that apparently was from Prima back in 2005. As you can see, I am NOT knitting it in lavender (collective sigh of relief) but in a really great indigo blue. So far, the pattern couldn't be easier. I did have to invest in a few different needles that I didn't have, but otherwise it will be pretty cheap. I chose some sort of acrylic so that I can wash it when it becomes schmeared with sweet potatoes. Yay!

Doesn't feel much like knitting weather here this week. Must be global warming. What's going on in your neck of the woods?

My Kid's Diet: Toilet Paper and Electrical Cords

New Pants (and eating toilet paper)
Originally uploaded by truckertracy

I thought paste eating was bad, but my Pumpkin loves toilet paper. Is that normal? I mean, it can't taste good, and it has to have little nutritional value. I guess I should consider myself lucky that he's eating clean toilet paper and not grabbing used kleenex out of the garbage or something...oh wait, he's done that, too.

The reason I followed him in the bathroom with my camera was to get a shot of him with his cool rocker baby pants on. I made these using just some basic black cotton and this really great fabric that I got at Crafty Planet for the cuffs. I've been going gangbusters on pants lately trying to get my pattern just right. I like how these fit, for the most part.

I'm thinking about having a kid party at my place for friends and blog friends and their broods. We don't have enough get-togethers with other kid people, for one, and for another thing I'd like to get these kiddos to do product testing and modeling for me. Want to come? How's October 18th looking for ya? Pumpkins? Cider?

I Piddie the Fool Who Doesn't Have Slippers!

I bought the coolest (ever) slippers on Etsy and you MUST get a pair!!! Check me out in my new Piddies slippers! Not only are they adorable, but Baby Pumpkin thinks they're hilarious, Mr. Pumpkin wants a pair "but with boobs on 'em" (of course birds are for girls) and they are super soft and warm! They also have this grippy stuff on the bottom so I hopefully will not kill myself wearing them!

Gotta love it. I put a pair of the whales on Baby Pumpkin's Christmas list so he can sport some too. Unfortunately I don't think they come in "boobs" so my hubby is out of luck there.

Get anything cool lately? Do tell! Fall makes me want to shop!!!

Some Recycled Pants and a New Flap Hat

I wish I had one of those dry erase boards handy some days for all the remarkably inane things people say, especially to (new) parents. Such as:
--Gettin' any sleep?
--Bet you've got your hands full!
--They grow up so fast!
--Wait til they're (insert age), then the trouble really starts!
--Just hope he doesn't start walking soon, then it's all over!

...the list goes on. Let's make a deal. I'll try not to say any of these things to you, if you try not to say them to me. The one that really sticks in my mind though, and isn't really inane, just interesting, is the constant comments about how I manage to fit in all the crafting time. I present you with another list, in response:
--I don't watch TV
--I have only one child
--My child has a 7 PM bedtime and takes naps (another inane comment...how lucky we are!)
--I don't have other hobbies (I'm not well-rounded)
--I don't have friends (well, I do, just don't see them all that often)
--I don't go to the gym, grocery store, do laundry, etc. (house husband)

There you have it. What's my point? My point is that today I made two hats and a pair of pants for the Pumpkin, and all the while I was on "baby duty" all day. I made these pants out of a lame pair of pants I got for myself at a thrift store, and then realized that a grown woman should not be wearing engineer pants, even if they *are* Liz Claiborne. I think they turned out so cute, they just may be making an appearance at our friend's wedding next weekend, paired with a tiesie!

I hope you had a great weekend. We're having a chilly, but nice, one here. Off I go to get my zzzz's! Cuz I just don't get enough of that these days!

My Kiddo on Etsy

My mom is a member of the Etsy Street Team "Wild, Wise, Witty Grandmamas" and today they are featured in The Storque, which is Etsy's news feature. The article is all about how the grandmamas are putting on a Meals on Wheels fundraiser that's running through September. As an added bonus, Baby Pumpkin's photo is right front and center, wearing a great hand-embroidered onesie (thanks, Ellen!)! Check it out, and support granny's and Meals on Wheels!

Stay Back, Paparazzi!

My niece turned seven this weekend, so we loaded up the car with the gift, the playpen (like napping would happen, seriously must have been deranged), stroller, a compost bin for my sister, and all kinds of other miscellania. We made it to St. Paul and the car started to act funny. After 172,000 miles, it's got a right, after all. Luckily we got it turned back towards home and coasted into the auto mechanic's just a couple of miles from our house. But by then (and after walking the two miles home from the mechanic) we were all hungry and stressed and had to move all the crap we loaded into one car into our other car. So it was not a great beginning to our day.

We've decided that if the car is kaput, we're okay with it. We really only need one car, and we could use the extra dough we spend on insurance. Still, I'm dreaming of a car with "butt warmers" and my husband's dreaming of a car with a tape player. Mini van, actually (I vetoed this).

The birthday party was fun, even the cat thought it was relaxing. The kids played till Grant shredded the knees of his pants and had to be sponged down to at least remove the top layer of grunge. Poor guy was so tuckered out! The gift I made went over well, the birthday girl got a kick out of the fact that I threw in the leftover fabric which she believes she can use to "make like 1000 barbie dresses!!"

The day was not as camera-happy as our last birthday (baby Pumpkin's), even though we now have three fancy digital SLRs amoung us. My parents and sister now use the Canon Rebel and I'm still loving my Nikon D40. Unfortunately that means that there isn't just one nerd at every party, there's a whole swarm of us, capturing every birthday candle, funny face, or goofy move. As demonstrated above. It's getting ridiculous!

Earflap Hat With Skulls

My son is usually a pretty willing (and ultra adorable) model for my projects. This one, however, not so much. Maybe it's the fact that I'm trying to get him to put on this super warm hat and it's 80 degrees outside. Or, by the time I get home from work and everyone eats and he gets a bath he's much more ready for a book or some snuggling than a modeling shoot. Oh, well. I did manage to snap this shot of him just about to take the hat off.

I am going to make some slight modifications to this new design, such as making the front flap a little wider. I hope to whip up about 100 of these for the big craft sale in December. I want to get some red plaid flannel to make some cute hunter-kid hats with. Yay! It's hard to get excited about winter, but I'm trying!

Cool Mom Picks Featured ME!

I hate to brag, but I am so on a roll these days. Yesterday one of my organic cotton tie tee-shirts (which I call "tiesies") was featured on one of my new favorite sites CoolMomPicks.com! I guess I need to start preparing my acceptance speech for when I'm picked as "Crafter of the Universe" because I'm sure that's not too far down the road.

Spoonflower Fabric Girl's Outfit

Spoonflower has got to be one of the greatest inventions ever, right? Although the real, sad truth of the matter is that I'm not graphically inclined, so it's really tough for me. I tried a few things and thought the results were okay. But seeing what others are doing made me realize I should stick to what I know. Can't teach this old dog new tricks.

I think the best idea I had was to use my niece's artwork to have some custom fabric made for her birthday. That fabric turned out pretty good (despite the fact that it had black lines all over it...me not knowing how to do the graphics, bah!). Then I ordered up a great vintage dress pattern on Etsy and set to work.


Of course I couldn't leave well enough alone, so I decided to make a set rather than a dress. I also discovered that my new sewing machine did not come with a zipper foot (What the hell? Is that normal??), so I sewed in the back zipper with my regular foot. I added a band to the top of the pleated part (the custom fabric) that coordinates with the shirt and put elastic in it. I took a queue from my recent hat creation and sewed on a little decorative flower to tie it all together.

I sure hope she likes it! It felt like the whole process (from getting the artwork, scanning it in, uploading it, getting the fabric in the mail, putting in that darn zipper to sewing on that little flower) took about three months. It probably won't even fit her that long!!! Oh well, it's always the "thought that counts" right?

Last Blast of Summer

I woke up this morning and checked the thermometer. It felt a bit chilly, but 55 degrees? Seriously!? It's still August, but the chill of fall is upon us here in Minnesota. I love the chilly nights, though. It's what we like to call "good sleeping weather" here in the Midwest. I still feel a little strange thinking that summer is reaching it's end, though. As much as I love fall, I'm not really ready.

So today we went to our friend's place on the lake and took what might be our last swim. Baby Pumpkin dug in the sand and paddled around in a big, inflatable whale. We grilled, sat on the "big boy" bigwheels, and tried to avoid eating bugs, sticks, grass, rocks, etc. A good time was had by all, but probably most of all the little guy.

I hope you had a lovely weekend!

How I Became Rich and Famous: My State Fair Story

I should start this story by saying that I am not, nor do I plan to become rich and famous. But I feel about as close to a celebrity as I think I ever will. I won myself a red ribbon at the Great Minnesota Get Together, the state fair. This is my winning entry:

I entered four things and this little bugger got the ribbon. Never mind that it's not infant sleepwear and that's the category it won in. Never mind, either, that it's knee pads are sewn more in proximity of the tooshie than the knees. It's a big, fat, red ribbon winner and I'm darn proud. Not nearly as proud as I am of my friend from Hazel and Melvin's Room who won second place for Monkeys in the Meat Grinder:

...and seemingly every other award known to man on her awesome sweater:

And my friend Kristen Mary submitted only one thing, her adorable cloth "paper doll" set, and she won the BLUE RIBBON on it! She rocks, and I feel like her famousness might rub off on me by being her friend.

I'm sure I missed so much. I LOVE the crop art and this year did not disappoint. The fine arts building was full of great looking stuff. But what made my day checking out the fair the most special, was sharing it with this little guy. He ate his first Pronto Pup, enjoyed deep friend cheese curds and a real chocolate milk shake from the dairy barn. He was such a trooper!

Venuys Xine Craft Contest

Got a great craft idea that costs less than $40? Got five ideas? You can submit them all by September 18 for a chance to win the Venus Zine Craft Contest. After my MN State Fair competition results (which I should know by tomorrow!), I might be ready for some more competition!

Handmade Kid's "So Big" Growth Chart

I first saw growth charts at one of my favorite local baby stores, Pacifier. It was kind of a novel concept to me, since we had always just written them right on the wall in my house growing up. But, I guess we're more civilized these days so we write them on something removable. Well, that would have saved my dad the trouble of transferring ours to a two-by-four when we moved out of my childhood home!

As with most things, I thought, "Why buy when I can make?" and I set about trying to make a unique one for my little pumpkin. I'd love some feedback on it because I was thinking I would love to sell these in my shop, or even possibly submit the idea to One Yard Wonders. I did use just about a yard of organic cotton to make this, so I thought it could possibly fit. The idea with this one is that you can write on it with a fabric pen, so more than one kid can use it. It's also pretty gender neutral, and not overly babyish.

Whadda ya think? If you were going to buy a growth chart, what type of things would you be looking for? Colors? Style? Materials? Does 6' tall seem too tall (I think the answer here is YES, my future 17-year-old son doesn't want to still be measured on this)? Price? Let me know -- you can be my informal focus group!

Just for fun, here are some other options you can find online (please recommend more if you've seen some cool ones out there!):

Roseberry Creek Growth Charts
Nifty Kid Stuff Growth Chart (looks a lot like mine!)
Inklore Growth Chart

Clothespin Doll for the State Fair

I made a new clothespin doll for submission to the Minnesota State Fair. I'm pretty anxious to see how this whole thing works. I have no delusions that my work is "State Fair Quality" but I had to throw it out there just to say I'd done it. I had a judge or someone call me last week to ask about the robot vest. She said there really wasn't a category for something made out of felted sweaters. To which I say, "why the hell not?" But, she put it in the clothing category and I said "Okay". I'm planning to go check it out and see what happened on Friday (the fair starts Thursday). If you don't usually check it out, the Creative Activities Building is a hoot. Pies, scrapbooks, quilts and all manner of crazy crafts and baking will be on display.

In other news, I learned that I was featured on a cool site call EcoMetro. Check out the first edition of Craft Thursday. I am seriously coveting the bicycle helmet cover they feature. What could be better for a bike commuter all dressed up her work gear than a cute chic bike helmet disguise!?

Anyhow, hope you had a lovely weekend. I did...and now off to sit and watch some pole vaulting or something while I eat dessert.

What To Do With a Yard

...of fabric that is! My friends Trish and Rebecca are looking to find out, and they're compiling all the projects into a book. It's called One-Yard Wonders and it's going to be published by Storey Publishing, who also published One Skein Wonders. I love their idea and can't wait to see what people come up with. I very often see fabric I love and so I pick up a yard, bring it home, and stare at it. Now I don't have to! I can just crack open this new book and I'm good to go. I actually wish it was already out, because I have this yard of Spoonflower fabric that I've been pondering a project for.

Anyhow, they're hoping to gather ideas and proposals by the end of August, so get cracking! I'm going to be submitting an idea or two. Wish me luck!

Summer Hat, Winter Hat

Somehow along the way here I became a maker of hats. I have had an Etsy shop for about a million years and have been hawking my wares longer than that. I think it just makes me feel better about spending copious (read: all) my spare time crafting if I can sell some of the stuff I make. Because of that, I have ended up selling whatever random stuff I wanted to, depending on my mood and inspiration. Unlike more disciplined "artists" (I don't really consider myself one, BTW...using the term loosely here), I haven't had to think really hard about creating a cohesive "brand" or anything like that. Now if I was seriously going to try to make a living doing this, then more thought would have to be given to how to make Pumpkin Girl not appear like a flea market of crazy craft ideas.

But I'm not serious, I'm having fun. I've sold (or still sell in some cases) cards, lip balms, jewelry rolls and hangers, soap, laundry soap, pillows, eye masks, onesies, etc. Recently, after hunting on Etsy for the perfect boy's sunhat without luck, I've also started making hats. Why not?! I'm having fun, dammit. Welcome to my flea market! Everything's a dollar...well, not really.

I have made close to a zillion hats over the last few months, or so it seems. Now that I'm getting really confident with the fit/sizing and the way the parts go together, I'm trying some new things. I'm particularly excited about the ear flap hat. It's this buttery soft flannel with a nubly fleece on the earflaps. And really, every Midwestern boy needs some ear flaps. Winter IS just around the corner if you live where I do.

I'd like to try to make some more for my shop, but I'm not sure how well they'll go over. Thoughts? Do they need a chin strap? Should I make some different colors/fabrics? Does it need the little flap in front that folds up? Gah, I'm so indecisive!

My summer hat was a custom order on Etsy. I think it turned out adorable (aren't I modest?). I am particularly fond of the flower detail. Ah, too bad summer's on it's way out...I could make one for myself.

Hope you had a lovely SUMMERY weekend!

Yellow Tomato and Purple Basil Caprese Salad

My hubby is the cook in our family, and now that he's the stay-at-home parent, he's also the grocery shopper. Last night he made this gorgeous caprese salad with the purple basil we're growing on our deck and some yellow tomatoes. Isn't it so pretty? The best part is it tasted fantastic, too. He said "you can put it on your blog" and I thought, how does he know about the blog...? But that's another story.

I need some more good summer recipes that don't involve turning on the oven, and don't involve a bun. Not that I'm against ovens or buns (or buns in ovens, for that matter), I just don't think I need to have them daily. Or even weekly. I love cold salads in the summer, or dishes you eat at room temperature. Bread salad, pasta salad...but I need new recipes. Otherwise I'm going to turn into a brat (and I mean the one pronounced BRAAAHhT and not BRAYT). And that just wouldn't be pretty.

Whatcha got?